The Raven
by Lady Blackdragon
Summary: This is my first story on Fanfiction.net. It occurs in an alternate reality where the senshi still exist, yet life is completely different. A girl named Selenity mysteriously appears in their lives one day, introduced as a friend of Mamoru's. And then Min
1. The Raven: Book One

  
The Raven: Book One  
By: Lady Blackdragon   
Started: 11/11/00  
Finished: 4/28/01  
Edited By: Jennifer Williams(thanx SOOOO much)  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Hey, everybody. This took me a while to finish(probably because I have the attention span of a fruit fly, but still...). I hope you'll like it, and I'm particularly proud of it! Please email me if you liked it.  
Also, I'd like to thank LadyBlue, HsinDragon, HeavenSent, and the wonderful Maia. You all are so...no wait. All of you EXCEPT HsinDragon are supportive. HsinDragon just posts my fanfiction; plus he's a moron.   
So welcome to the wonderful world of Disn-Lady Blackdragon. Enjoy the sho-err fic.  
BTW,this is a serious story.  
  
~The Raven: Book one~  
  
The raven gazed forlornly at the moon, it's eyes glazed with a remebrance of happier times. He could remember the days...  
  
But no-- he shook off the memories of days long gone. The future was at hand.  
  
Tonight, yes tonight, a new hero would emerge.  
~Chapter One: Serenity~  
  
Mamoru was sitting at a corner booth at the arcade, supposedly waiting for a friend. Of course, his best friends, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako, Yuchirro, Urawa, Motoki and Ken, the exchange student from America, were rather suspicious.  
  
And friends are always the wrong people to have suspicious.  
  
"So Mamoru, is your friend a girl?" asked Minako slyly. "Perhaps the to words put together mean GIRLFRIEND?"  
  
"Yes, my friend is a girl, but she's not my girlfriend, okay," Mamoru retorted exasperatedly, tired of Minako's schemes to set him up.  
  
Minako and her gang of friends were definitly not the people to play matchmaker. Mamoru faintly, and disgustedly, remembered a time when they had 'accidently' set him up with what was in fact a man in drag.  
  
Ding!  
  
The arcade bells rung loudly through the arcade and a young woman walked in. The men gave off several catcalls, and the girl blushed to the roots of her silver hair, which was strangely done in an odango hairstyle. Her eyes were a twinkling blue, and her smile radiated a kind of magnetism that could not be denied. Even Rei smiled back!  
  
To the shock of Mamoru's friends, she came right over and sat down across from him, right next to Makoto.  
  
"Hi, Muffin!" she giggled, and Rei rolled her eyes. Another girl going to extremes to get Mamoru's attention. But if that's what she was trying to do, why was she dressed so modestly?  
  
"Hey, Serry! Sere, these are my friends. The man with the blonde hair is Motoki, and his girlfriend is the other blonde, Minako. The tall brown haired man is Ken, and he's from America. His girl is Makoto- the extremely tall auburn headed one sitting next to you. Rei is the one looking at you as if she wants to burn holes in your head, and her long haired boyfriend is Yuchirrou. Ami is the blue haired braniac, and the only guy left is Urawa,Ryo Urawa. Oh, the cat is Luna. Everyone, this is Serenity, and she's an exchange student from France."  
  
Urawa frowned teasingly. "You couldn't even describe me?" Everyone laughed, except Rei, who was looking at her strangely.   
  
"Serenity is your name?" she asked, her voice somewhat cold.  
  
Serenity looked at her, right into her eyes. "Yes, and yours is Rei. You have a spiritual energy about you, almost as if..." Serenity blushed, having almost revealed her secret. Could Rei be the scout of Mars?  
  
"Almost as if what?" Rei asked, now intensely curious about this girl, instead of her previously nonchalont attitude.  
  
"Almost as if you were protected by the planet of spirituality. The planet Mars."  
  
The girls at the table gasped almost inaudibly, and Rei's eyes grew wide. "Wha- What did you say?!" Could Serenity, this friend of Mamoru's, know their secret?  
  
"Nothing. Ignore me. I guess I'm kind of freaky, huh. That's what everyone told me at home, in Paris. That I was a freak. Because I can see things about people, without even realizing I'm doing it." Serenity said quietly. "I think I'll leave," she said when she saw the cold gazes of the girls.  
  
Minako and Mamoru both saw the pain in her gaze, the pain of a wound that's been reopened once more.  
  
Minako rose from her seat next to Mamoru and quickly caught up to Serenity as she reached the doors to the arcade.  
  
"Hey, Serenity! Wanna catch a movie with me?"  
  
"I would love to Minako, but on one condition," she said teasingly.  
  
"What's that?" asked Minako, playing along.  
  
"You call me Usagi!"   
  
"It's a deal, Usagi. Let's check out the new Charlie's Angels movie, okay?"  
  
"Uh... what's Charlie's Angels?"  
  
Ding!  
  
The stuptified expressions on everyone's faces were priceless.  
  
"I guess Minako liked her," said Mamoru.  
  
*There's something strange about that girl* thought Rei. *And I intend to find out what it is!*  
*****************  
'Stun them princess' the raven thought. 'Show them you're the best!'  
  
~Chapter Two: The Battle~  
  
Beep!  
  
"It's one AM, for goodness sakes! Why can't youma attack at a reasonable time, during the day?!" grumbled Rei as she climbed out of bed. She then quit her mumbling, and sighed. "All in a night's work!"  
  
When she reached the battle, the others were already down. It was looking bad.   
  
"MARS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" she cried, and Sailor Mars joined the fray.  
  
The others glanced up at her weakly from their prone positions on the ground. "FIRE SOUL!" she shouted, and fire lanced out from her fingertips, headed straight for the unlucky monster.   
  
The monster looked at the fire and snorted. It put out a hand and the fire suddenly reversed it's course, heading straight at Mars. About a hairsbreadth away from being toasted, a body rushed over and pushed her out of the way. The fire struck the tree that had been right behind her, staining it a pitch black. Mars smiled mirthlessly. Now she knew what the poor youmas felt.  
  
She looked at her savior and gasped.  
  
The girl wore a Sailor fuku, like her own, and her knee high white boots were only slightly different from the beautiful silver color of her hair. The skirt had three layers; blue, pink, and yellow, and she had no bow, but wings protruded in its place, attached by a silver crescent moon brooch.   
  
But the biggest difference was the wings that protruded from the girl's back, snow white, like an angel's.  
  
"Who are you," breathed Mercury.  
  
"I am Eternal Sailor Moon, and I'll help you finish this monster!" The mysterious girl turned toward the monster. "In the name of the moon, I shall punish you! LUNAR SCEPTER, RIGHT WRONGS AND VANQUISH THIS EVIL!"  
  
Light spilled from the staff, and the youma was dusted.  
  
"WOW!"  
  
*******************  
  
DONE! yay!  
Next is Chapter THREE!   
  
*******************  
  
'It will take more than that to win them over, princess. Believe me.' the raven cawed as a beam of moonlight shone upon it. ' But soon, you will have the support you'll need!'  
  
~Chapter Three: Mamoru and Serenity~  
  
"I don't trust her."  
  
"Rei... She saved your life!"  
  
"I don't trust her."  
  
"Fine! Be that way!" flounced Minako, her silky yellow hair flying out behind her as she stalked away.  
  
"Eternal Sailor Moon. Who is she?" Rei whispered as she walked into the arcade and sat down beside Makoto. Minako looked at her disdainfully from her seat next to Ami on the other side of the booth.  
  
Minako suddenly gasped, her eyes going wide as she looked back and forth between Serenity(whom she fondly called Usagi, much to the disgust of everyone else, except Mamoru)and Mamoru, who were sitting at a booth on the other side of the bustling arcade, her mouth gaping slightly open.  
  
Makoto looked at her urgently. "What is it Minako?"  
  
"I've wanted to see one of those for as I can remember!" she whispered, her face full of delight and wonder.  
  
"What?" asked Ami, curiousity winning out.  
  
"A soul bond!" she said, shocking everyone at the table.  
  
"WHAT?" Rei screeched, drawing the attention of everyone in the arcade. She flushed guiltily, then pointed her nose upward. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS PEOPLE! I've had a bad week!"  
  
"Obviously," said one smart mouthed, red head floozie on the other side of the arcade, about two booths behind Mamoru and Serenity.  
  
Rei looked at her with that famous look of hers, the one that made grown men wet their pants, and little kids afraid of the dark. The girl shrank down in her seat, and Rei stood up. She walked over to Mamoru, her attitude flying high.  
  
Minako went after her, smirking. *Not his girlfriend, my ass. I KNOW what I saw!*  
  
Makoto and Ami followed Minako, because at the moment they were seriously doubting Rei's mental sanity.  
  
Serenity had left by the time the girls had gotten their fiery friend to calm down.  
  
They sat down around Mamoru, trapping him in place. "Not your girlfriend, huh?"  
  
To Ami, Rei, Minako, and Mako's surprise, Mamoru sighed. "I wish."  
  
That was something to think about.  
  
***************  
  
'My Queen! They have discovered the soul bond!' The raven said.  
  
The Queen's reply was soft and mellow. 'All too soon, they will discover the truth, my friend!'  
  
~Chapter Four: 3 AM ~  
  
Minako was startled awake by the familiar beep of her communicator. She was completely exhausted, having worn her self thin fighting youma after youma this week, with no end in sight. Eternal Sailor Moon had helped them everytime, when the senshi had been in dire straits.   
  
Minako felt drawn to the beautiful Moon warrior, like a moth to flame. There was something so familiar... She couldn't put her finger on it...  
  
She shivered as she crawled out of bed and answered her communicator. "V-babe here. What's up?"  
  
"Youma at Tokyo Industrial Center."  
  
"Yow! That's a busy place, even at-" Minako looked quickly at her watch "-2:47 AM!"  
  
"Hurry up"  
  
"Over and Out"  
  
Minako transformed into Sailor Venus when she got to the scene of the attack.   
  
The youma had already been dusted!  
  
"You mean I woke up at 2:30 AM in the morning to fight a youma that's already FRIGGIN' DUSTED?!" she screeched.  
  
Then she noticed something unusual.  
  
Jupiter narrowed her eyes, and shouted out to the escaping Moon warrior. "Matte! I challenge you to a duel! Right here, right now!"  
  
Moon stopped and turned around. "Why do you want to fight me? I don't wanna fight you."  
  
"That's because you KNOW your gonna lose! All I know is that you appear out of nowhere, with extraordinary powers, and expect us to trust you! Well, I don't think you belong around us!"  
  
"I dont know anything. Mars is the one with ESP, not me. But if it's the only way I can earn your respect, I will fight you. It is your choice. With or without power?"  
  
"Without."  
  
"You asked for it!" Eternal Sailor Moon spread her wings, and swooped down on Jupiter so fast it was a blur, and kicked her in the stomach. She then crouched in a perfect martial arts ready stance.  
  
Jupiter, flushed with anger, charged at her, her fist lashing out to smack a mighty blow to the face.   
  
Moon stuck out one hand and Jupiter's hand contacted it with such force she was thrown back.   
  
"Can we stop? I don't want to fight you. You, who was once my ally, a long time ago," she whispered.  
  
Jupiter snarled, and landed a blow to Eternal Sailor Moons ribcage. The girl gasped slightly at the contact, pain flashing though her middle. Jupiter felt guilty when she saw the betrayed look on Eternal Sailor Moon's face, then hardened her heart. She would show this girl that just because she helped them once or twice, didn't mean she was better OR that she could be trusted.   
  
She lashed out once more, but Moon easily blocked and knocked the wind from Jupiter's lungs.  
  
"Please...stop this meaningless fighting. I never meant for this to happen!" And she turned and began to walk away.   
  
She turned around quickly, but Jupiter and Venus saw the tears in her eyes. And they trusted.  
  
It was 3 AM in the morning.  
  
~Chapter Five: The Raven~  
  
Silently it watched, the ebony black of its feathers gleaming ever so lightly in the moonlight. The soft whispers of the leaves as they were stirred by the wind more than covered his presence. The raven was a guardian, a protector of the princess. The Moon Princess.  
  
He flew away.  
  
*********  
  
The soft firelight played softly against his features as he sat in his lonely apartment. The walls were white, the furnishings a dull green, and the desktops bare for there was a noticlable lack of pictures.  
  
Mamoru glanced at the clock lazily. 3:07 AM. His midnight eyes wearily began to close...  
  
'Mamo-chan!!!!!' A heartbroken wail intruded into his thoughts. She was crying. He ran out to his balcony, swiftly transforming into an unknown hero, clothed only in a black tuxedo and a domino mask.  
  
When he reached the tower, 'Tokyo Tower' he noted, the man in black searched through the darkness with not only his eyes, but his mind.  
  
He heard sharp, echoing sobs. Not sure if they were in his mind or his ears, and not really caring, he rushed toward them until he came upon the winged angel. Eternal Sailor Moon.  
  
She rushed into his arms, her small body shaking unrelentingly in his embrace. "Shhh...Usako, it's okay..."  
  
"They don't trust me, Mamo-chan...it hurts...iie, not even you can make it go away, Mamo-chan..."  
  
To see her cry tore Mamoru up inside. He just gave her what comfort he could, knowing only one thing.  
  
He would be the only one to see her cry.  
  
**********  
  
The raven called so earnestly to the Moon, begging it to help the Princess, to help the Senshi, to help the Earth. The goddess there heard it's prayer, and the soft light ever so brightly shined upon Tokyo, before it was overshadowed by the Sun.  
  
Three heard it's beckons, the need of the Princess, the need of the Moon, the need of the Messiah.  
Three answered.  
  
The raven cawed, contented as its eyes closed so quietly. Hai, the Princess would soon have the help she needed.  
  
'But,' the goddess chidded her friend lightly, 'It is not yet the Senshi's place to know their past; or their ever so dark future.'  
  
The raven agreed hastily. Soon, all would be well.  
  
**********  
  
Makoto stirred the pancake mix in the soft green colored bowl, her thoughts elsewhere. The battle last night had opened up whole new worlds, and given her insight on others she hadn't before possessed.  
  
She had thought that she, of all the Senshi, should know what true pain was. Her family had been taken away all at once by a plane crash, and she as well had almost lost her life as well. No one wanted to adopt her, and she had turned to the streets; dropping out of school, getting into fights, joined a gang.  
  
When her entire gang was killed, and she was arrested, she thought she wouldn't ever fit in anywhere again. She was put into Juuban Junior high as a last ditch chance to turn her straight. Because of the genious girl Ami, and friendly Minako Aino, it worked.  
  
Then she became a Senshi. That was like a crushing blow; she would never be normal.  
  
That girl, Eternal Sailor Moon, looked like she had felt the same pain, just on a much higher level. It lurked in the depths of her beautiful blue eyes, just as whispers of it echoed in Mamoru's strange friend Selenity's.  
  
A pain the same as her own, yet greater than her own.  
  
This was someone who wouldn't give up, and wouldn't turn her back on her allies. This "Eternal Sailor Moon" was someone to be trusted.  
  
Afterall, she was a Senshi.  
  
*************  
  
"We are here, Raven, we are here!" echoed three voices throughout the way. "We are here!"  
********  
End of chapter five!  
  
So has anyone figured out who the raven is yet? Huh? You have?! Darn!  
  
*****************  
  
Chapter Six: The Masked Man and the Winged Angel  
  
*Ami's POV*  
  
My eyes were a tad bit weary as they opened to the sound of a furiously beeping communicator. I briefly remembered falling asleep after studying for the next days Calculus test, and something about -b+or-the square root of b squared- 4ac. Man I hate tenth grade.  
  
Rei was there, mumbling something about a big youma that resembled a soap bar. I grabbed my mini computer and transformation pen, and quickly ran down the stairs.   
  
I bumped into my mom as I headed past the foyer, and she looked at me questioningly. "Rei needs some help at the shrine, mom! I'll be back by ten!" I flushed guiltily as I said this. I hate lying to my mom all the time, but I know she'd be scared. Since dad has left, I'm the only thing she has left. But I was going to help Rei, so it wasn't REALLY lying.  
  
So, when I got to the shrine, I realized how correct Rei had been. The youma DID resemble a giant soap bar. However it appeared to be incredibly strong. All the Senshi were wounded, and Minako looked like she didn't have the energy for another attack.   
  
"MERCURY STAR POWER!" As the icy water melded around my body to form my fuku, I sank into the familiar rhythm of battle; dodge, attack, dodge again. "SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"  
  
"No- wait a second-" I heard Mars faintly call.  
  
It wouldn't be enough. The monster easily broke through the icy trap my attack had weaved around it, and turned to me as its last victim. Apparently, it had planned for me to join my fallen friends quite soon.  
  
"Not so fast, you slippery youma!" A voice called out from behind me. A faint recognition at the voice flittered through my brain, but it left as soon as it had come. "How dare you attack a shrine, a place of peace and virtue! In the name of the moon, I, Eternal Sailor Moon, shall punish YOU!"   
  
As she flew past me, a blur of flowing silver hair and lost feathers. And, I swear I'm not lying, she winked playfully at me as she passed to join the fray.  
  
Interesting.  
  
It was only then I noticed her shadowed companion, a tall man of perhaps 5'10 or so, wearing a white domino mask and a--tuxedo?  
  
Very Interesting.  
  
"LUNAR SCEPTER, HEALING ACTIVATION!" She called, and I was surprised. Why was she healing a youma?!  
  
THe bright white light surrounded everything, including myself as well as my fallen friends. When it ended, my friends were healed, and in the youma's place stood- Yuchirrou?  
  
Mars stood up, brushing of her red skirt asshe did so. "That's what I was trying to tell you."   
  
Eternal Sailor Moon looked at me and said directly towards me: "The enemy is using humans in an effort to weaken your hate against youmas. They think you won't be so quick to attack if you aren't sure whether it's a human or not."  
  
As she turned away I saw that her arm was burned up to the shoulder; it was a fiery red, and black scabs were forming along it quickly. For the second time that night I flushed guiltily: I had never thought to consider how much helping us might her; she sure did channel a lot of energy through that staff of hers.  
  
I trusted her that night, and I'm not sure if it was the knowledge of how much she was giving, or the wink she gave me when she passed me in battle. Either way, in my eyes, she became a true Senshi.  
  
***  
  
Soon after the battle, another shock occured; one that shook my system comepletly out of control.   
  
I was walking home, a little tired, and dreading the approaching study marathon that awaited me at home when I saw them.  
  
A weary Serenity leaned on Mamoru as she cradled a burned arm. The images of Serenity and Eternal Sailor Moon melded together into one stong piece of truth. Suddenly, it just clicked.  
  
"OH. MY. GOODNESS."  
  
Serenity looked up and right into my eyes, blue meeting blue. She saw realization creep up into my eyes and I felt it creep down into my stomach.  
  
'I'm kind of a freak'  
  
'That's what everyone told me'  
  
'I can see things about people'  
  
'I don't even realize I'm doing it'  
  
'I'm kind of a freak'  
  
'I'm kind of a freak'  
  
'I'm kind of a freak'  
  
'I'm kind of a...'  
  
'I'm kind of...'  
  
'I'm kin...'  
  
'I'M KIND OF A FREAK'  
  
Everything was echoing in my mind, rushing and swirling with knowledge and realization. Everything bluring into one image; one file.   
  
Eternal Sailor Moon= Serenity.  
  
She looked at me with her soul searing gaze and I found myself at a loss with what to say.  
  
"Are you going to tell the other Senshi?"  
  
I didn't answer the question.   
  
************  
A short haired blonde walked out of the airport, stretching long limbs and inhaling deeply as she looked at the sky. 'Ah, to be in Tokyo again,' Haruka thought.  
  
At first glance she resembled a man, but when you looked ever so carefully, you could see her daintily curved lips and when you looked in her eyes, you might see a secret love of pink and Valentines day hidden in the depths of her gaze.  
  
She was soon followed by a beautiful aqua haired woman, who reminded you somewhat of the ocean itself, calm and beautiful, yet turbulent and exiting. Mirchiru had the look of an artist, and in fact was one; an artist of paints and of the violin.  
  
Lastly came the young girl, thirteen or thereabouts. She was easy to miss, blending in to the shadows and corners of places, speaking rarely and only when neccessary. Hotaru was a girl of many shadows; yet when she smiled, you could think of her as nothing but a child of light. However smiling was a rare occurance. Such was the fate of a child of darkness.  
  
Hotaru smiled one of her rare smiles as she gazed up into the starry nightime sky. 'Finally, Ishall meet you, my beloved princess' she thought. 'The time of darkness is coming, and you shall be the one to bring forth the light!'  
  
Yes, they would help the winged angel and the masked man, the prince and princess of times long past.  
*********  
  
'They are here my princess. Fear not!' The raven said contented.  
*********  
  
End Chapter Six  
  
Well? Was it good? *smile* Thanks!  
*********  
  
'They will protect you, Princess. It is their destiny. And mine'  
  
Chapter Seven: The red violin  
  
Kaiou was a genious.  
  
The whispers circled the stage as the aqua haired woman gracefully played upon her violin. Alone she played, yet her solitary instrument replicated the rushing ocean, a turbulent wing, a crushing and confining darkness.  
  
All of these feelings, yet she played alone.  
  
Alone.  
  
Hino Rei sat in the audience, captivated by the music. 'Kaiou Mirchiru. So much talent.'  
  
Then it was over. She had played the entire concert without any help; without rest. She had played the entire concert alone. Amazing.  
  
There was a small reception afterward, in which one Hino Rei was approached by the violinist herself.  
  
"It's quite the pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaiou."  
  
"You as well, Miss Hino."  
  
There was a momentary pause. "How do you know my name." It was more of a statement then a question.  
  
"You have a red aura, Miss Hino. Almost as if you are protected by Mars itself."  
  
"Funny you should say so."  
  
"Yes, well-" Mirchiru paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "I was wandering, seeing as you are the Miko of Hiwaka Jinja, if you by any chance know my cousin. That's how I knew your name by the way; your Miko status."  
  
"I know may people Miss Kaiou, and it's simply not possible to remember them all-" Rei was cut off at this point by what, to Rei anyhow, had become a familiar name.   
  
"Her name is Tsukino Selenity."  
  
Rei felt a little of the blood rush from her face, leaving her skin feeling rather white and pasty. "Yes-" she paused. "Yes, we've been aquainted."  
  
"Oh good. If you see her, tell her I said hello, would you?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"It has been a pleasure, Miss Hino."  
  
"Likewise, Miss Kaiou."  
  
As Kaiou Mirchiru walked away, Rei noted the unusual color of the violin; a rusty red in color, and wondered exactly what kind of finish was used to create such a unique color. Red, was afterall, her favorite.  
  
***********  
  
The familiar beeping sound echoed through the arcade, and Minako and Makoto looked towards each other. Eye contact was achieved as they rushed outside and into the pouring rain. They stopped in an ally and flipped the tops on their communicators in a well practiced manner.  
  
"Venus and Jupiter here."  
  
"Youma. Park. Now." End transmission.  
  
Makoto looked over at Minako. "How come your name is always said before mine?"  
  
"I'm just special, I guess. Let's go!"  
  
**  
  
The fight had started without them, it appeared, and although that was not altogether unusual, the fact that none of the Senshi were attacked was quite strange.  
  
Ami's distressed voice called out to the two. "It's a human, guys!"  
  
A voice from behind. "Are we late?" Eternal Sailor Moon emerged from the shadows, along with her dark companion, who had yet to be identified.   
  
The youma shot out a tendril, capturing Sailor Moon around her elegant neck and pulling her towards it. Her dark companion lunged for her, but it was a human, their was nothing they could do.  
  
"Aqua Reflection!" a strong voice called from above, and crashing water slammed into the youma, forcing it to release the captive Sailor Moon. It converted back to a human almost immediatly, it's spell dissipitating.  
  
"Protected by the tides of the planet Neptune, I am Sailor Neptune!" She called out and jumping down, Rei could clearly see the red violin. "Kaiou Mirchiru."  
  
Sailor Neptune grabbed Sailor Moon's arm and dropped it over her shoulder. The man in black did the same, and together they began to carry the unconcious Sailor Moon away.  
  
"Miss Kaiou!" Rei called out. Mirchiru turned and looked back. "Why is your violin red? I've been meaning to ask you."  
  
Mirchiru smiled elgantly, flashing her perfect white teeth in a way that made both Minako and Makoto feel like their teeth were crooked and yellow. "They say a violinist is nothing without a violin that is bound to her dreams." Mirchiru nodded to the unmoving Sailor Moon. "She is my dream. My princess, whom I will serve faithfully, forever."  
  
"Why is the violin red, then? It seems as though Eternal Sailor Moon's color is silver." Rei replied.  
  
"It has been painted with her blood."  
  
Widened eyes followed the three as they disappeared.  
  
"Eternal Sailor Moon is Selenity. Sailor Neptune is Kaiou Mirchiru. Who is their dark companion?"  
  
Mercury's eyes widened. "Why didn't I see it BEFORE?!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The masked man in black must be Mamoru!"  
  
Rei was lost in her own thoughts. 'Kaiou Mirchiru. A genious. A woman who carries around a violin painted in her 'Princess's blood.'  
  
*************  
END CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
Done. Hope the last part didn't creep anyone out.  
  
*************  
  
Interlude: The Meeting  
  
  
The fire room of the Hiwaka Jinja was crowded-- and an air of heavy decisions that needed to be made filled the room.  
  
Two cats sat in the center of the room, the focus of the humans solely on them. This would normally be unusual, but in this case, seeing as the cats could talk-- it seems only the appropriate thing.  
  
The black one began first. "You Senshi have explained everything to me in great detail, yet I do not understand why you don't trust her--them. They are Senshi too!" The cat named Luna lectured  
  
The white one, Artemis, followed. "Are you sure you're not leaving anything out?"  
  
Rei had a pensive look on her face. "Rei?"  
  
"You know, I forgot to mention two things. Miss Kaiou, Sailor Neptune-" she clarified, "has a violin painted with Eternal Sailor Moon's blood. She also refers to E. Sailor Moon as 'Princess'."  
  
Luna's eyes widened. "It couldn't be--not after all our searching..."  
  
Artemis looked at her, and they nodded. "Meeting ajourned." THe cats ran from the room, their destination fixed in their mind. Crown Arcade; the control room.  
  
*********  
  
'You're going in the right direction, Luna. Don't lose track of your mission!' The raven encouraged. 'Don't lose track of your mission.'  
  
*********  
  
Luna looked at the computer screen again, hoping to see the information on it had changed. "It all makes so much sense..."  
  
"LUNA! I got Tsukino Selenity's personal files!" Artemis called.  
  
"It doesn't matter anymore, Artemis. Eternal Sailor Moon is..."  
  
"Luna?"  
  
"Eternal Sailor Moon is the long lost Moon Princess!"  
  
***********  
  
Dum da dum dum dum! Suspenseful waiting...  
  
Okay, next chaper.  
***********  
  
'They know. God help us all, they know. It's too early on in the game for them to have found out!' The mysterious guardian, the raven, cawed. 'Be on your guard, my princess, be on your guard.'  
  
***  
  
Chapter Eight: The last to arrive; Sailor Uranus and Saturn.  
  
Another ugly one. Pink and slimy, even. They weren't going to win without Sailor Moon's help. It wasn't human this time, however. At least they had that.  
  
They were losing, though, and losing bad.  
  
"WORLD SHAKING!"  
  
"DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!"  
  
"AQUA REFLECTION!"  
  
"MOONLIGHT DESENTU!"  
  
The youma was history.   
  
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Minako yelled out.  
  
A tall woman jumped down from the tree. She had short blonde hair, and a sword hung haphazardly from her waist. "Sailor Uranus"  
  
She was followed by Sailors Moon and Neptune, and by a small, dark-haired child in a Sailor fuku.  
She held a large glaive in her hand, taller than her body. "And I am Sailor Saturn, the second most powerful Senshi, and the Messiah of Darkness."  
  
"HOW can you be the second most powerful when YOU have the power to blow up the whole world whenever you have a temper tantrum!"  
  
"I may be able to destroy the world, but only Sailor Moon, the Messiah of Light, has the power to heal it."  
  
Silence followed.  
  
"Sailor Moon!" Minako bellowed. "Since you claim to be the most powerful Senshi, my Sailor team challenges yours!"   
  
Sailor Uranus grinned. "Your on."  
  
Suddenly, Luna ran up, followed by a panting Artemis. "You can't even attempt to hurt her, Senshi! I doubt you could, however." She said, glancing over at the imposing outer Senshi that stood infront of a weary Sailor Moon.   
  
"Why not, Luna?"   
  
"Because Sailor Moon is the Moon Princess. The one we've searched for these past three years."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Oh. My. GOD." Rei stated.  
  
A dark swirl appeared in the center of the park where they had fought. A man stepped out of the portal, his hair in a ponytail away from his black eyes. "We've been trying ever so hard to figure out who it was, and a talking black cat spills it to us so easily. You come with us!"  
  
He grabbed Sailor Moon, his hands at her throat. "Ta ta!"  
  
"We'll get you!!!" Uranus growled.  
  
"For that, you'll need to know whom I work for. The MIDNIGHT EVIL society, Sailor twits. Remember that!"  
  
"They will pay." came the cold voice of Sailor Saturn. No more was said.  
  
No one could think of anything to say.  
  
  
  



	2. The Raven: Book Two

hg~The Raven: Book Two~  
Started: 4/28/01  
  
  
Chapter One: Capture  
  
"They will pay." came the cold voice of Sailor Saturn. No more was said.  
  
No one could think of anything else to say.  
  
The darkness and the mournful silence was closing in on them. Sailor Uranus licked her lips. "Computer girl! Yes, you, Mercury. Could you get a fix on where that portal went to and what exactly it was made of?" She ordered.  
  
"Where do you get off ordering my team around? I'm in charge here!" Minako yelled  
  
"I couldn't give a damn who's in charge! We need to do things, and we need to do things fast. I don't have time for a little girl to pretend she's a leader!"  
  
"Yeah?! Well, I don't have time for a pushy newcomer to tell me and my team what to do!"  
  
"I just want to find my Princess, and you're getting in my way!"   
  
"We're the protectors of the Princess, Uranus!!"  
  
"THAN HOW COME WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PROTECTING?!!!! WE'VE BEEN PROTECTING HER FROM YOU ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!" Uranus bellowed, closely followed by her gloved hand covering her mouth from her outburst.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Minako whispered.  
  
"You don't even REMEMBER?! You were her best friends, and then you turned on her like vicious dogs and YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER???!!!" Sailor Uranus felt the blood rushing to he face as her voice rose in tone once more.  
  
Sailor Neptune put a hand on Sailor Uranus' shoulder. "Haruka, I think it'd be better if I explained."  
  
She turned to the Senshi; all of them except Mercury looked toward her. "All your memories of the fight against Queen Beryl have been erased. The only thing you know is that you DID, in fact, fight her. You were told this by that talking cat, I do believe."  
  
Minako nodded, agreeing with Mirchiru's correct statement. "So why don't you ask that talking cat why she never informed you of the death of your ally in that battle, the friend you ditched; Sailor Moon."  
  
"But Sailor Moon is alive!" Jupiter yelled.  
  
"No thanks to you. You left her for dead on the battlefield, in the arms of the also 'dead' Prince Endymion. I believe you know HIM by his other name, Chiba Mamoru."  
  
Rei's eyes widened.'Mamoru-san?'  
  
"But of course, you don't remember. Your memories were wiped, along with Selenity's and Mamoru's in hopes that you would be happy."  
  
"Is this true, Luna?" Minako said, her blue eyes searching the cat's for an answer. Luna looked downward, breaking the gaze.  
  
"I wanted- WE wanted to protect you from those painful memories!"Luna said, acknowledging Artemis.  
  
Uranus growled. "But we will ALWAYS remember, and we don't easily forgive."  
  
"I'VE GOT IT! I'VE GOT THE FIX!"  
  
***  
  
"Where AM I", Usagi said grogily. Sometime during her portal trip she had reverted from her fuku to regular clothes.  
  
Her hair had come loose from her odangos, and soft waves of silver fell to the floor.  
  
"You, my pretty little fairy, are in the deepest, darkest part of the Midnight Evil Society. We are an organization that wants nothing more than to capture Earth and obliterate human existence!" Evil laughter followed, as the black-haired man that had captured her stepped out from the shadows.  
  
Usagi looked at him from indignant blue eyes that shined brightly in the darkness of the room. "That's just sick." She spit at him, and he dodged with an amused glance.  
  
"Ooh, a fiesty one! I like that! Oh and by the way, fairy, I haven't yet told you HOW we plan to do it!"  
  
"What are you talking about..." she whispered, the harsh reality of her powerless finally registering in her mind.  
  
"Our leader, Zimite, wanted to be... different. We plan to destroy human life with a plague worse than the black death!"   
  
Usagi's eyes got impossibly larger. All those people dying such painful deaths..."NOOOOOOOO! That's so cruel..." she whimpered! She had never been so useless; never felt so helpless, in her life.  
  
And that made her angry. So very, very angry. Her body began to brightly glow with white light as the black eyed man looked on with fear.   
  
***  
  
"Where is it?" asked Uranus. This time however, Minako did not contest her question.  
  
"The portal was made, not of black energy, but neutral energy. It took her to a power plant in Austrailia." Ami replied. "The only way I can see us getting there is by plane, but thatr would take days..."  
  
"Where's Mamoru?" asked Rei, out of the blue. "He would have known if something had happened to Selenity-sama, wouldn't he have?"  
  
Minako drew her eyebrows together in concentration."Quite possibly. Why don't you try and call him?" She said as she pointed to a telephone booth about a yard or so away from where they were standing.  
  
Mars ran over to make the call.  
  
Saturn cleared her throat, a move that usually made those unaccusmed to her presence jump. This time was no different. "I know a way we could get there, in, say, five seconds.It's called Sailor Teleport." She said.  
  
Jupiter looked over at her and smiled. "That would be great. How is that possible?"  
  
Mercury too looked on with interest."Well, it's done mostly by channling your powers through one Senshi team member-- usually Sailor Moon, but this time me because I'm the only other person who knows how to do it-- and envisioning the place you want to go."  
  
"That's coo-" Minako was interrupted by Rei's frantic calling.  
  
Jupiter and Saturn rushed over. Rei looked at them with wide violet eyes."You have to hear this to beleive it.  
  
They stood silently as Rei dialed the Mamoru's phone number once more.  
  
"You have reached the Midnight Evil Society. Little Sailor Chickies, I knew you would call. Here's a clue: Your prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under. Ta ta, now, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do!click."  
  
The three walked back over to where their friends were waiting. Rei looked incredibly pale, they noted, and when she spoke, they also noticed her shaking voice.  
  
Sailor Neptune looked concerned. "Miss Hino, are you alright?"  
  
"The prince resides with his princess, in a land WAY down under."  
  
A caw echoed overhead, and Saturn looked up, her face impassive. It was a raven "Beware of the Black Vials! They mean death!" It cawed, and Saturn's dark purple eyes got impossibly wider. She looked to see if the others had noticed. They hadn't.  
  
She hadn't imagined it. Of that she was sure."Beware of the black vials." she mouthed. 'I thank you for the warning, great raven. Don't worry. We'll save the princess and her prince!'  
  
"Now, down to this teleport business. Join hands and send out your power!" Saturn commanded.  
  
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"  
  
"MARS STAR POWER!"  
  
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"  
  
"VENUS STAR POWER!"  
  
"URANUS STAR POWER!"  
  
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"  
  
"SATURN STAR POWER! TAKE US TO AUSTRAILIA!"  
  
And suddenly, they were gone.  
****  
  
Chapter Two: Death  
  
  
No longer did a young woman with frightened blue eyes stand before him. Now, an incredibly angry, incredibly beautiful Princess stood in front of him, and she looked rather dangerous. He noted the long scepter in her left hand; the Lunar Scepter, no doubt about it. She wore a white silk dress, embroidered with gold roses. Every inch the Moon Princess.  
  
So his master had been right after all. He almost smiled until he remembered his predicament.  
  
Usagi looked at the man in front of her, his greasy hair and black eyes. She couldn't believe this was the same cocky son of a gun that had been telling her of his master's wish to destroy all human life.  
  
"You can kill me, but you will never kill my master or his dream!" The man stuttered as his executioner drew nearer.  
  
"That's all it will ever be, you silly little dog. A dream. A dream that will never, NEVER, become reality."  
  
"I hate you, you stupid bi-"  
  
"LUNAR SCEPTER EXECUTION!"  
  
And all was quiet except for a crying girl sitting in the middle of the dark marble floor, a pool of silver hair around her, and wearing a plain blue dress.  
  
She had killed.  
  
****  
It was a moden office building; a large steel scyscraper with cubicles on each floor. And on the top floor; large rooms, comfy chairs, and company heads could be found.  
  
Mr. Ronald Fujiwara rested his head in his hands. He had had a busy day, and luckily, he had only one more client before he could go home.  
  
It was sweltering hot when they arrived, and the climate and landscape was far different from any they had seen in Japan. There was open space for miles around, and a beautiful sunrise lit the sky.  
  
Saturn stood wearily, and cupping her hand above her eyes, squinted to the east. "I think I see the place we're looking for, guys!" She called.  
  
Rei looked to where Saturn's index finger had pointed an smiled. Indeed, a large black building in the middle of a deserted wilderness WOULD be the place they looked for.  
  
Rei frowned. "I wish we had those nifty wings Sailor Moon has!" she stated.  
  
"If wishes were candy." Uranus replied dryly.  
  
They both noticed the others had left without them. "HEY!" they cried in unison. "WAIT UP!"  
****  
  
The large black building also, Saturn noted, had large black doors. She halted the others, a frown etched into her face. "Be prepared for traps." She looked indecisive. "And if you see any-- any black vials, tell me, okay?"  
  
They walked inside carefully, and seeing no traps, walked on.  
  
A small red light blinked from the camera in the door way.  
***  
  
It watched evilly as they walked in, it's mouth set in a wide grin. Soon, yes soon, they would die, and earth would be his for the taking!  
  
"Master, I come bearing awful news." a servant said, his mouth set in a grim line.  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Ermine has been...eliminated, and the princess has ...escaped."  
  
"Shimmatta!"  
****  
  
Usagi held her breath as she looked around the corner, searching for any sign of those well armored guards. She had run into quite a few of them recently, and had had to use her insticts to disbatch them. For some reason, she couldn't transform here in this-building. She had only established that they ran experiments here, which most likely meant it was a laboratory.  
  
She had to find a way out...  
  
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her body toward a warm wall behind her. She immediatly began struggling, until a warm, familiar voice whispered into her ear. "It's me. Calm down, Usako."  
  
Usagi melted against him, savoring the feeling of security that would last perhaps only a moment. Soon enough, the echoing footsteps of the guards could be heard once more.   
  
Usagi turned around until she was facing Mamoru. "They want to eliminate the human race, Mamo-chan. Can you imagine?"  
  
"Why would they want to do that?! That's crazy!" Mamoru whispered loudly; incrediously.  
  
"You haven't heard the worst of it, Mamo-chan."  
  
"What do you mean, I haven't heard the worst of it?" he whispered, preparing herself for what she was about to say.  
  
"They plan to use a virus that would put the Black Plague to shame. It would not only kill person after person, Mamoru! It would have everyone living in fear, and turning on longtime friends and neighbors! It would be total chaos!"  
  
"And a negative energy hotspot." Mamoru finished grimly. "Kuso! Why couldn't they have a simpler plan?!"  
  
The footsteps became louder,pounding in their ears.  
  
"Let's go."  
*****  
  
Minako turned to Saturn, who was leading them down a dark hallway. "Saturn, what do we call you? You've sort of taken charge, and calling you Saturn doesn't seem- right. I'm Minako, by the way."  
  
"My name's Hotaru. I have no idea why you guys are letting me lead, since I'm so young."  
  
"How old are you, anyway?" Minako asked, curious.  
  
"Thirteen. I used to be older; it's a long story."  
  
"One I'd LOVE to hear someday, let me assure you-" CRASH!  
  
Row after row after row of youma charged into the unlit corridor, from both side, trapping them in.  
  
Mars grinned mirthlessly. "Let's get ready to rumble, ladies! MARS FIRE IGNITE!" Fire surged through 50 or 60 youma to the right. "Smokin'!"  
  
Uranus turned to her with a challenge in her eyes. "Let ME show you how it's done, pyro. SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" She cried, and more than 70 youma melted into the ground.  
  
Deciding they didn't want to be left out of the fray, Jupiter and Venus launched a double attack, killing 70 or so youma.  
  
Mercury typed furiously on her computer as the others fought. 'What is that strange energy coming from the center of this building. It's not negative, but positive!Positive energy HERE? What could it BE?'  
  
"I'm all tapped out!" Mars cried, breathing heavily.  
  
"DEATH RIBBON REVOLUTION!" All the remaining youma turned to dust.   
  
Makoto turned to Hotaru. "Why didn't you do that sooner?!"  
  
"You guys looked like you were having fun..." she started, grinning.  
  
Mercury gasped. "I've located Usagi and Mamoru! We've got to hurry! My computer says they're not transformed. They could be in serious trouble!"  
****  
  
"I will NOT let them ruin my plans!" Zimite hissied dangerously. "I WILL NOT!!"  
****  
  
"NOT SO FAST, STUPID SENSHI! YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY PLANS! IN FACT YOU'LL HELP THE ALONG! I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY VIRUS, KNOWN ONLY AS THE DARK PLAGUE!" A booming voice shouted, echoing through the walls of the large corridor.   
  
Black vials started falling from the ceiling. Saturn's eyes widened impossibly larger. 'Beware of the black vials. They mean death.' she mouthed, before she started screaming...  
  
Her flesh was burning, she could feel it. The virus was invading her body, and a feeling of regret and despair washed over her. 'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'  
******  
  
"Where's it coming from!" Usagi yelled as she and Mamoru ran through the hallways, searching for the source of the screams. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her in endless waves of silver as she turned this way and that.   
  
'I'll never meet you now princess. I'm so sorry...'  
  
She stopped in one hallway, and her lips moved but no sound was emmitted. The only thing that could be seen was the black corpses littering the hallway in Sailor fukus, and the reek of rotting corpses filled the air.  
  
"Mamoru..."  
  
The corpse wearing a Saturn fuku had it's mouth bopened in a scream.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
Chapter Three: Sacrifice  
  
"Usagi! Usako! Don't! Please!" Mamoru begged, his navy eyes pleading with her.  
  
"Mamo-chan, if seven people can live for one, it's worth it."  
  
"You truly are the princess, aren't you?" Mamoru said sadly. "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER THINK OF YOURSELF, SELENITLY?!" he cried.  
  
"But don't you see, Mamoru?! I'm being selfish right now, because I know I couldn't live if I knew they could have lived! I'm nothing without them, Mamo-chan!"   
  
"What about me, Usagi? I- I love you. I NEED YOU!"  
  
Usagi looked at Mamoru sadly. "I love you too, Mamo-chan. Never forget that I love you.Promise me!"  
  
"I promise."  
  
Usagi nodded tearfully, and grabbed his face to pull him down for a tender kiss; a farewell kiss.  
  
She turned away then, and turned toward the black corpses. She held up the Imperium Silver Crystal, and high in the air it floated above her palms. "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
  
The energy left her, floating toward the bodies that littered the floor. As life returned to them, Usagi smiled and slumped to the floor. Her eyes still open, the blue faded to a light gray color in death.  
  
The moon princess had made a sacrifice; dying to save her protectors. It didn't seem right.  
*****  
  
When Saturn awoke, the first thing her eyes noted was the prince's sobbing form. When her vision became more focused, she saw the small body of her princess in his arms.  
  
"No." she whispered. "NOOOOOOO!" Saturn screamed, awakening the others from there deathly sleep.  
  
"Hime! Princess!" Uranus creid out in anguish. "How could she be so selfish?! It's our job to protect her!"  
  
Rei looked down at the small girl in Mamoru's arms. Only now did she realize how small and harmless she looked. "I never got to know her; I was too suspicious to trust her, and I've missed out on so much..."  
  
Minako looked over to her sobbing friend, tears shining in her eyes as well. "You missed out on a chance to get to know a wonderful person, but Rei... Don't you understand that now is not a time for regrets?"  
  
Saturn's eyes narrowed. "She's right, Sailor Mars. Now is a time for action. We'll make these bastards pay!"  
  
Sailor Mars stopped briefly as they left their princess' cold body on the floor. She knelt down beside it, and clasped a limp hand in her own warm one. "Princess, I wish you a happy time in the afterlife and heaven, and I wish you a safe journey there. Know that you go with our love and thanks."  
  
She stood and slowly walked away, the steady click of her red high heels on the black marble floor.  
****  
  
Chapter Four: Antidote  
  
They charged into the throne room to face their enemy, Mamoru in the lead as he told them of their enemy's plan.  
  
"Zimite, you evil rat! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Uranus called out in what was a good mockery of glee.  
  
"Calm down, love." Neptune said to Uranus, and Uranus looked at her fondly.   
  
"I must have my revenge, Michi."  
  
"We all must, Haruka. We ALL must."  
  
"Why hello, little Senshi. I was wondering for awhile whether or not you were going to find me, I must admit. Or whether you would live long enough to do it!" he shouted in evil laughter.  
  
He stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't human; they could be positive of that. His green skin was flecked with black, however, so they could see that somehow the virus had affected him.  
  
"Yes, you're quite right. I was myself infected with the virus during the development, but luckily I knew the antidote soon after! Now little girls, you came to fight, so let's fight!"  
  
Venus, Uranus and Neptune began to fight the warlord almost immediately, while the others stood back.   
  
"Why is it so friggin' cold in here?" Jupiter mumbled.  
  
"Cold?" Mecury whispered to herself. "I've got it!" she began punching keys into her keyboard furiously, and frowned whenever her scans gave her a bad result. Finally, she smiled triumphantly. "There is no real antidote, guys. Extreme cold freezes the virus' reaction to the body! If you can heat up his body, the virus will eat him inside out!"  
  
"Well then," Mars started. "If it's heat you need... MARS FIRE IGNITE!"  
  
"NOOOO!" he screamed when the blazing fire hit him. The Senshi watched in awe as he turned into a rotting black corpse before their eyes.  
  
"That was too easy." Saturn muttered.  
  
An image appeared on the wall, a projection, fuzzy yet easily identified as a human this time. "You may have defeated my servant, Senshi. But next time, you will not defeat me! bwahahahahaha!"  
  
"Oh shit!"  
  
******  
  
Chapter Five: Rebirth  
  
The sun was high in the sky when they returned, and Mamoru had sunk into a deep depression. With the loss of a soulmate, Minako had said, it is like the loss of life.  
  
"But what I can't understand is why it's still there. The soulbond, I mean. Usually, when a person dies, the bond is broken..." Minako trailed off, realizing what she just said.  
  
"Do you mean it's possible that she's still alive?" Hotaru, who was drinking ice tea with the 17 year old at Crown, asked the older girl.  
  
"Quite. It's quite possible." Minako said thoughtfully.   
  
"But I saw her and she was QUITE dead."  
  
"It's possible that she planned for this to happen so she split her soul into two parts, and put them into two different bodies."  
  
"She could do that?!"   
  
"She's the friggin' MOON PRINCESS. She could do anything she damn well pleases."  
*****  
  
Ami, Makoto and Minako sat peacefully in Haruna-sensei's 'room of torture' tenth grade English class. She walked in, her red hair waving, and her make-up covered face was set in a frown. "Sit up staight, you slackers."  
  
She walked over to her desk and plopped her briefcase on the desk. Once, Haruna had been a happy, dedicated teacher. It was rumoured she'd had her heart broken and it had made her heart cold and hard. "Today we have a break from our usual, monotonous day, students. In fact, we have a new student to add to my general feeling of misery."  
  
A small girl, 4'11 or so walked into the room, her feet making almost no sound on the classrooms tile floors. Her hair was in odangos, a now familiar hairstyle to the girls.  
  
"Introduce yourself, girlie."  
  
"Hello everyone." Her voice was melodic, and several guys in the class sighed. She looked up suddenly, her blonde hair swinging in her eyes. "My name is Tsukino Usagi, and I'm 17 years old. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"  
  
It wasn't the name. They could have sworn that. It was her eyes when she swung her hair out of her face. They were the same crystal blue color of Selenity's.hb  
*****  
Chapter Six: Meetings  
  
Usagi sat alone at lunch, her hair falling into her face. Apparently, no one liked her enough to sit near her. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'It's not the first time I've ever been an outcast.'  
  
"Excuse me, Usagi-san?" A small voice asked from behind her. She turned to see a blue haired girl, around the height of 5'2 or so. "My name is Mizuno Ami. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
A brown ponytailed girl also looked over Usagi's shoulder. "And I'm Kino Makoto."  
  
A blonde sat down next to her. "Aino Minako, at your service."  
  
"Where do you people come from?!"  
  
"I'm from Venus."  
  
"Mercury."  
  
"Jupiter."  
  
"You guys are out there. But somehow, you seem familiar..." Usagi said.  
  
She noticed as they all three exchanged a look.  
  
"So Usagi, where are you from?" asked Makoto casually.  
****  
  
Luna looked at Artemis. "Tsukino Usagi, eh? I think it's time to have a talk with our friend, the Raven."  
*****  
  
Mr. Robert Fujiwara sat at his desk, his head cradled in his hands as he repeated a mantra in his mind. He was SO glad he had only one more client for the day.  
  
Fujiwara was the president of the Tokyo Research facilities, and was a very busy man. "Fujiwara-san? A Ms. Raven to see you."  
  
"Thank you, Aki. Send her in."  
  
"Hello, Mr. Fujiwara."  
  
"Ms.Raven."  
  
"Setsuna, please."  
  
"How may I assist you, Ms.Setsuna?"  
  
"I want you to make an antidote for me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Have you ever heard of the Sailor Senshi?"  
**  
  
Chapter Seven: Sailor Moon  
  
The wind blew upon the seven at the scene of battle.The youma was hard, as they all were now that Sailor Moon was gone.   
  
It was the heart of winter, and Hotaru cursed the thin fukus that she and the others wore. "Too bad I can't use my attack," she muttered. "But it's a human."  
  
What were they to do?  
  
A streak of yellow slime headed straight for her; it had been spit out of one of the youma's many mouths, and Hotaru braced herself, knowing she wouldn't have time to move out of the range.   
  
Suddenly, a blur of red, white and blue pushed her out of the way.   
  
The girl's golden hair was up in the classic odangos, the streamers reaching only to mid-calf, and her familiar blue eyes twinkled in the moonlight. She wore a fuku, with a blue skirt and red bow, matching the red boots and red jewels decorating her hair.  
  
She stood proudly, her stance an echo of the late Sailor Moon...  
  
"I am Sailor Moon, a champion of Justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"  
  
"Oh, another little girl with big talk. LET'S PLAY!" The youma cried.  
  
"Nuh uh! MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" The girl shouted, and the youma reverted to human form.  
  
The Inner Senshi looked on in confusion as the Outer Senshi's eyes widened. "That's the first form of Sailor Moon. Selenity's fuku used to look like that!"  
  
Saturn looked eerily at Sailor Moon. "And Selenity used to be a blonde, I've heard."  
  
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"  
****  
  
The raven flew in and perched on the windowsill before reverting to her origional form, a tall, dark woman with green hair and silky maroon eyes. Her chocolate colored skin gleamed in the soft moonlight, and she smiled at her friends.  
  
"Setsuna, do you know what's going on?"  
  
"It's time to give ALL the Senshi back their true memories Luna. Ones of present, ones of past."  
  
And with that, the raven was gone.  
****  
  
"Who are you?" Rei demanded hotly. "YOU CAN'T BE SAILOR MOON!"  
  
The girl's soft blue eyes, the ones that had become hauntingly familiar to the scouts, became somewhat angry. "And why is that, may I ask? I have the brooch, I have the powers, and a friggin' TALKING CAT TOLD ME I WAS!" Her face flushed a bit, and she added a quirky little statement that made a smile pull at Uranus' lips. "And I'm NOT EVEN a cat person."  
  
Rei wasn't amused. She looked even angrier. "I don't care who told you what, but I saw Sailor Moon sacrifice herself for us six months past, and it makes me angy that someone would just use her name like that!"  
  
'Sailor Moon' smiled winningly. "But only a part of me died, you see. I'm sure your friend Venus can tell you all about it."  
  
All but Saturn turned to Venus accusingly. Venus gulped, and noticed as she glanced to the side that Tuxedo Mask was here. 'Surprise, surprise.'  
  
Thank god for talking cats and perfectly timed entrances. Luna looked dispassionatly at them, looking for all the world as if she had just been given a horrible task to do.  
  
"I'm sorry, girls," she started, her blue eyes softening as she gazed at each one in turn. "But an order is an order, even if it's not made to sound like one."  
  
"LUNA MIND MELD!" she yelled loudly.  
  
All the scouts fell unconcious, their bodies melting softly to the gound as their tiaras disappeared and symbols of their planets appeared in place, and tuxedo mask felt his transformation slip as he too plunged into darkness.  
  
Save for Uranus and Neptune, who looked at each other, an understanding between them. This was a moment they had been through before. They looked to Luna, who was concentrating ever so hard on the connection between her and the others.  
  
The time had come. The Messiah would be awakened.  
****  
  
"Tonight, several citizens noticed a beam of golden light lighting up the sky around eleven PM... Scientists have hazarded that this might be an effect of Global Warming..."  
  
*****  
END BOOK 2!! Yahoo! I'm so proud of the way this story is coming out, and I'm hazarding a guess that this will come out to be about six books. Just a guess, mind you. It might be longer. Since you're probably not going to read this anyway, I just HAVE to thank all kinds of awesome people.  
  
Maia, you tell me I'm good at writing, and it bolsters my self esteem. We're writing a co-fic, so be on the lookout.  
  
Jennifer W.- my way cool editor who has all kinds of nifty suggestions to make this fic better...  
  
Yang, LadyBlue, whatever you call yourself, you're SO weird. But heh! At least you're helpful!   
  
Lady Blackdragon ^-^!! 


	3. The Raven: Book Three

The Raven: Book Three  
By: Lady Blackdragon  
Started: 5/5/01  
  
It's basically about Usagi and her lives, but it tells about Mamoru. I also did other scouts as well, but they're not that long. It starts out with need to know facts 'bout the moon kingdom, but they're rather... different than the original story. Enjoy...I hope.  
  
~Interlude: Memories~  
  
***  
THE MOON  
***  
  
The raven stood at the gate, her maroon eyes compassionate. 'Are you sure this is what you wish to see?' she asked. 'You may not like it.'  
  
'I need to know,' the blonde said earnestly.  
  
'As you wish, Selenity.'  
***   
Princess Selinity watched her mother as she sat upon the crystal throne that she would someday inherit. Her mother wore a placid expression, one that could almost be described as...cold. Cold and detached.   
  
Perhaps if Serenity wasn't such a great and wise leader, people would see the side of her that Selenity saw everyday; they would see through that awful fake smile, and those awful perfect teeth. They would see the black rotten thing inside of her that was the tattered remains of Serenity's soul.  
  
Selenity saw that side to often for comfort, haven been slapped across the face for disturbing her mother's thoughts often enough. Sometimes, Usagi, as Selenity liked to be called, wondered if she thrived just on the stories she had been told since she was five, about the wonderful and wise Queen of the Moon.  
  
She had no one to turn to, and at the tender age of eight she had begun weapons and magic practice to fill the empty spaces in her heart. Even as she wondered down the hallways now, she could feel the two gaping holes in her heart. One in need to be filled by a mother, the other, a father.  
  
Ah yes, her father. The one no one could talk about. THe mysterious man whose name was said to bring about disaster. Another story, for another day.  
  
She was the Princess of the Moon, for goodness sake. She couldn't mope about. 'Someday,' she resolved, 'I will inherit the throne, the Imperium Silver Crystal, and I WILL be the best Queen ever. And I will have heart while I do it.'  
****  
'Is that all my life was? Spiteful hate for a mother I couldn't understand?! Naive ambition?!'  
  
The raven chuckled. 'Heaven no. There's more to see, Selenity. Much more.'  
****  
Queen Serenity sat upon her crystal throne as emotionless as ever, looking down at the four who were to become her daughters protectors. "You'll do. Dismissed."  
  
As soon as they were out in the corridor, the one in the red and white fuku, Mars, exploded. "WE'LL DO?! We've been training all are lives for this?! I hope that this Princess isn't like her mother!"  
  
"Shhh! Calm down, Rei-san" the girl in the blue fuku by the name of Mercury said soothingly. "Not so loud!"  
  
"Well, I personally agree with Rei-san." Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles. "I might accidentally fail at this job."  
  
"I'm sure she won't be like her mother. The word around here is that the Princess is really sweet, if not ambitious. Not anything like the description of the Queen."  
  
"I certainly hope I'm nothing like that witch," A new voice said from behind them.  
  
They turned around to see the princess herself standing there, the spitting image of her mother in all except hair and eye color.   
  
"Your Majesty."  
  
"Don't do that. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, and that easily gets annoying. Plus," the Princess giggled. "You don't look like the bowing type. Proud stances you all have, princesses of your own planets."  
  
Mars raised an eyebrow at Venus before turning to the Princess. "Well, Princess, I expected you to be somewhat like your mother."  
  
"I refuse to believe we came from the same blood. But hey, all priveliges come with punishments right?"  
  
Mercury looked at the ten year old princess and sighed. Her mother had forced her to grow up and become an adult at so young an age. At fourteen years, Mercury herself believed even she wasn't so cynical as to believe that.  
  
The young Princess tossed strands of blonde hair over her shoulder as she looked quietly at the soldiers before her. "You know, I think I like you guys."  
  
"Well, good." Mars said sarcasticly. "I'm glad I have your approval."  
  
That statement was met with another one of the princess' beautiful laughs. "Now I know I do."  
****  
  
Selenity smiled. 'That's a good part of my life, isn't it? Are there any more of those?'  
  
'Yes, there is another.'   
  
'Show me, please?'  
  
'Of course.'  
****  
  
The smell of roses was prevalent in the garden. So much color, so much warmth could be found here. She snuggled deeper into Endymion's arms, his sweet smell of summer rain intoxicating her senses.   
  
She wondered once more what she'd done in life to deserve the love of the handsome eighteen year old Earth Prince named Endymion. At her awkward age of fifteen, it was hard to imagine that he would see anything in her that could hold his interest.  
  
She held on to the moments she spent with him, knowing that each one could be her last; that someday he would tire of her and find someone more worthy to love.  
  
She sighed as she turned up to look into his navy eyes; he was looking into the beautiful sunset, the wind stirring his jet colored hair, and the last rays of the sun's light illuminating his profile.  
  
Yes, someday he would move on, and she would be crushed. Was this what it was like to love? To know that you had something great, something wonderful that made you so amazingly happy; to know that one day, you would lose it?  
  
Endymion looked down at her, somehow sensing she was upset. "What's wrong love?" he asked softly, nudging her softly.  
  
"Endymion, why do you love me?" she asked him. She looked searchingly into his dark blue eyes, as she asked. He smiled softly down upon her, flecks of silver glimmering in his eyes.  
  
"Because I can't comprehend not loving you. Your smile, your laugh, your eyes," he paused a moment. "But most of all, I can't see anyone else filling the place in my heart that you do. You have a heart big enough for the both of us, and strong enough for the both of us. I just hang on for the ride. You're just so special and unpredictable, and-" he stopped. "That enough reasons."  
  
She blushed. "Yes, my prince. Just enough."  
  
She watched him as his face paled a bit, and his lips twitched slightly as they did whenever he was nervous.  
  
"Usako-" he started, his voice cracking again. "I want to ask you a question, but you don't have to answer it imediately, okay?"  
  
"Okay," she said, wondering what in the world he could be so nervous about.  
  
"I can't spit out a poem about how amazing and special you are, because it can't be discribed with mere words. You mean so much to me, and I don't know, exactly, what I did to deserve you, but...What I'm trying to ask is, Will you marry me?"  
  
Usagi's throat constricted as those words seeped into her brain, echoing in her head a thousand times; no a million. The most wonderful man in the world was nervous about asking her to MARRY HIM?!   
  
After that sunk in, she realized what that meant. 'HE WANTS ME TO MARRY HIM?!'Before she could stop the words from coming out, and not that she wanted to, her answer poured from her heart without giving her mind a slight warning.  
  
"Yes! A thousand times yes! No! A billion times yes!"  
  
His face broke into that wonderful smile of his, and somehow, Usagi knew that life would be forever perfect.  
****  
'That was so beautiful,' she whispered.  
  
'Yes it was. But unfortunately, it was soon after that things went terribly wrong.'  
  
'It's time for the sad things, now, ne?'  
  
'Yes. The end of a Utopia.'  
****  
It was the glorious night of the princess' sixteenth birthday, and the night that the princess' engagement to the prince of Earth would be formally anounced.  
  
The Queen NORMALLY wouldn't have bothered with a ceremony for her daughter at all, except for the fact that the people loved her daughter; and everyone knew that the people would start to suspect the Queen's true nature if she didn't hold a ball in honor of her heir.  
  
The night went well, and many cheers and congratulations had gone around after the anouncement of her long awaited betrothal. Everything was going as planned.  
  
Serenity sat in a corner, her face bored. Usagi could tell she really hadn't wished to come, but could find no excuse to miss the party of her 'beloved' daughter.  
  
Mars stood up, clanging her fork against her crystal wine glass, causing a sharp clang to echo through the ballroom. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. The Senshi and I just wanted to say that we hope Princess Selenity has much love and luck in her future endeavors." The Senshi nodded their heads as clapping was heard around the room.  
  
A tall, darkhaired woman with blue eyes, who just so happened to be sitting next to Mars, complemented her on her speech. "Nice and short." Usagi watched as Rei blushed.  
  
"Thanks, Luna. Thanks a lot." Mars said. She rarely got praise from so worthy an advisor and person as Lunaria Crescento, who was her strongest critic in training. Usagi had always wondered why. Perhaps it was only now that she was beggining to see that Luna had the most hope for Mars, and THAT was the reason she was so hard on her.  
  
"You learned well."  
  
Suddenly, a dark and booming voice could be heard throughout the room. "Yes, let's all give congatulations to the little Princess."  
  
Queen Serenity's silver expressionless eyes grew wide with horror. "ALEX?! No! It couldn't be! Alex wasn't evil..." Her voice tapered of at the end.  
  
"Oh yes I was, Serenity! You were just to blind to see it! You were such an airhead, but you had so much POWER! When you gave birth to our daughter, I knew she would be the strongest! The best! You were a tool, one that has long since run out of usefullness." He aimed at her with his pointer finger at her, and her body was reduced to nothing but a pile of ash.   
  
He turned to Usagi, as Endymion held to her waist in a comforting and protective manner. She held the silver crystal up in the palms of her hands, and her eyes stared defiantly at him. "How dare you kill a Lunarian! How dare you kill anyone! She was a good Queen, who was respected by all! I will punish you!"  
  
"I, Zimite, do not believe you are cold enough to kill your own father!"   
  
The Princess' faith stumbled.  
  
The Moon Kingdom stumbled.  
  
The Utopia fell.  
  
The Princess had failed.  
***  
'It all ended because I was weak!' she cried out. 'It's all my fault!'  
  
'There is more, Selenity.'  
  
'I don't wish to see it!'  
  
'You must.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'These are your memories of this life, that your subconcious has blocked from you. Are you prepared?'  
  
'As I'll ever be.'  
  
'Let's begin.'  
***  
She knew something was wrong. Before she even walked up the steps, she knew. The doorknob was cold against her palm as she tried the lock. The door opened with a 'click'. Her mother never left the door unlocked, especially at night.  
  
The large house her family lived in was eerily silent; she couldn't hear a sound.   
  
Then suddenly, she could hear a dripping sound coming from the kitchen. The kitchen lights were out, and the dripping sound had gotten louder.  
  
Nothing could have prepared her for what she would see next.   
  
Her father lay strangled on the floor. She could still here his deep laughter as she rushed from room to room, looking for her shoe, and finally found it in the refrigerator. 'Honey, you put your stuff in the strangest places!'  
  
All that was left of her annoying little brother Shingo were a few scattered bodyparts strewn across the red stained tile floor. His backpack and it's contents were on the table; he had been doing his homework, apparently, when the killer had struck.  
  
And her mother. Her beautiful mother hung by her silky purple hair from the ceiling fan, several waves still framing her peaceful face. 'Usagi-chan! Did you do your homework?!' 'Yes okaa-san!'  
  
Memories echoed through her mind of them. They were gone. Forever.   
  
She blacked out.  
***  
She was openly sobbing, the tears coursing down her face relentlessly. 'I can't see anymore. Iie, it hurts...'  
  
'To face your fears, you must know what they are.'  
  
'I've been hiding; hiding from these memories!'  
  
'That's why I'm showing them to you. To face your fears, you must know what they are.'  
***  
  
She awoke in a white room, and bright light streamed into her eyes. A doctor stood over her as she lifted her lids, and kind eyes greeted her.  
  
"Hello. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like hell."  
  
"I would be to--after the accident and all..." the doctor said warily.  
  
"What accident?" she said confusedly, her mind hazy. She couldn't seem to pinpoint anything in her mind...  
  
"Oh no. Can you tell me, what's your name?"  
  
Her brain wrapped around itself, seeking the answer but finding none. "I don't know. I just don't know..."  
  
She wearily felt her eyes closing involuntarily and darkness consumed her every thought until everything was quiet.   
  
She was fast asleep.   
***  
'Why did you show me that? I remember that.'  
  
'One of your fears is losing yourself.'  
  
'How do you know everything about me?! How do you know my memories?!'  
  
'To face your fears, you must know your fears. Remember that always.'  
  
And she disappeared, leaving the girls astro form to find it's way back to her body.  
****  
Alright. That was hard. phew.  
  
*****  
THE PLANETS  
*****  
~Mars: Casablaca~  
  
Rei walked happily alongside her mother through the Marsian gardens, as she sighed at all of the wonderful flowers.   
  
Princess Rei of Mars was considered to be one of the next beauties of the millenium; her soft ebony hair and challenging eyes were by far the most beautiful on Mars already, and the Princess had yet to come into her beauty at the tender age of seven.  
  
Her mother smiled fondly down at her, and Rei smiled back. It was apparent where her beauty came from.   
  
"Momma, why are you so upset?" Rei asked, with all the innocence of a seven year old.  
  
"You're my only daughter, Rei, and the Moon Queen wants to take you away from me."  
  
"She's a mean lady." Rei said, cringing at the memory of the cold faced woman.  
  
"She wants you to become a Senshi; a protector of her daughter. It would be the best thing for you, and would asure your ascension to the throne, but I don't think I could let you go."  
  
"I don't want to go either. If it makes you sad, it must be a bad thing!"  
  
"No! Rei, it's a wonderful thing! And I do want you to go! I want you to do your best, okay?"  
  
"I'd do anything for you Mommy. For you, I'll be the very best Senshi ever!"  
  
"That's my girl.  
***  
  
Mars walked up to the grave. She brushed the snow from off the engaving, and looked down with love. 'In memory of Queen Ares, loving mother and memorable leader.'  
  
The snow was falling harder than ever, re-coating the spot Rei had just wiped clean. She shivered from the cold, and pulled her coat more tightly around her.  
  
It was the dead of winter, and the anniverary of her mother's death. The day a part of her soul died.  
  
She layed the bunch of flowers upon the stone; fresh casablancas. Her mother's favorite. Her favorite.  
  
"I'd do anything for you Mommy." She whispered, quoting something she had said twelve years ago. Tears fell from her eyes. 'I love you mom. I miss you.'   
  
As she looked towards the sky, tears streaming down her beautiful face, she whispered so quietly that only the angels could hear. "Someday, I'll see you again... I just know it! So until then, ja ne!"  
  
And she walked ever so quietly from the cemetary. Usagi met her at the gate, meeting her eyes. Usagi had stood out in the freezing weather to wait for her, without thinking of herself. And Rei new suddenly that everything would be okay, as long as the princess would always be there.  
*****  
~Mercury: Magic~  
  
Ami felt a hand tap her lightly on the shoulder, as so not to disturb her but to signify they were there. She turned her blue eyes toward Usagi, who looked at her quietly. "What's wrong, Ami-chan?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Don't lie. It's not your style."  
  
Ami sighed. The young princess she protected was quite persceptive, she noted. It went into her file of little things she learned about the girl everyday. None of the other scouts had even gotten a hint of her melancholy mood.  
  
"I don't know what's wrong exactly. I feel... empty, I guess."  
  
"I've noticed that the other Senshi seem to leave you out. Why do they do that?" Usagi asked.   
Once again, Mercury marveled over the maturity of this ten year old girl. What had made her think she needed to grow up so fast? Mercury could answer that question easily. Her good-for-nothing mother.  
  
"Once again, I'm not sure."  
  
"For someone who has so much knowledge, you sure know little about peoples emotions."  
  
"Why do you think they leave me out?"  
  
"You don't act as if you want to be let in. You act like you're scared you're going to get hurt if you let people be your friends! They don't know how to deal with that."  
  
"Why are you my friend?"  
  
"You're so different from the others, but in a good way. You're quiet, yet you are tough and you stand up for yourself. You're such an interesting person, I can't imagine NOT being your friend."  
  
Ami smiled then. "You made me feel better. Thanks princess." She smiled at the girl fully, and her blue bangs fell into her eyes. "Oof! Stupid bangs!"  
  
Usagi giggled. "Talk to you later, Merc!" She called out as she left the room.  
  
A short while after Usagi left, Ami puzzled over the mystery that was Princess Selenity. The girl was so compassionate; so different from the mother she had, all cold and detatched.  
  
When Ami suddenly realized that it wasn't Usagi's compassion that had made her feel better. It was her charm. She grinned like a fool from ear to ear.  
  
"It must be magic," she thought, before going out to the gardens to gossip with the other Senshi.  
***  
  
The raven watched happily as the souls of Mars and Mercury floated back to their bodies. 'They have learned what it is they need to learn.'  
  
Now all she had to do was wait for the others.  
*****  
~Jupiter: The Card~  
  
It had suddenly appeared in her quarters, lying on her dresser when she had returned from Senshi practice.   
  
At first she didn't notice, weary from her workout. She proceeded to take a shower, washing her auburn hair and rinsing the sweat off from her recent spar with Mars.  
  
It wasn't until late that night did she notice it sitting on her dresser, addressed neatly on the front to Princess Jupiter in beautifully scripted handwriting, elegant to the last touch.   
  
Her emerald eyes scanned every inch of the envelope, searching for the name of the person that sent it. Without finding a clue, she slowly opened it.  
  
It was a pink card, with green writing in a bold longhand across the top. 'Happy Birthday' it said, and Jupiter wondered briefly who could have sent it. It WAS her birthday today, but she had told no one.  
  
She curiously opened the card.  
  
I wish you a birthday full of dreams,I wish you a future not ripped down the seams. I give you a laugh, I'll give you a smile,If this card makes you happy for a while. The sun may set on every day. But I hope your wishes will forever stay. Be true to your heart, and to your hope. And somehow you'll manage to stay afloat. I'm not a great poet, so what can I say? But I'd write a poem for you any day!  
Love,  
S  
It wasn't until she had turned out the light that she realized who S was. S stood for Selenity.  
  
She noted in her mind that tommorrrow she would thank Usagi for the lovely card.  
****  
~Venus: The Gift~  
  
I looked at the precious gift in my hands. It was a gift from Usagi-chan; a gift to celebrate my upcoming marriage to General Kunzite, a General in the Earth Prince Endymion's personal force, she said.   
  
I had never met Endymion, but Kunzite had high hopes that he and the Princess would fall in love. Yeah right. Usagi-chan isn't a real firm believer in love, let me tell you.  
  
She was so sweet, to give me a gift. Had it really been so long, four years, since the day we met her when she was ten? Yes, I did believe it had.  
  
There I was, at a minor library, looking at the gift in my hand. What had possessed her to give me a gift? I wondered.  
  
I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and listened carefully. There was a man, identified by his warm baritone, and what sounded like Usagi's giggle. I looked out in the hallway to see none other than Usagi locking lips with the man whose voice I had heard earlier.  
  
I couldn't resist the silly grin that pulled at my face, and the relief that washed over me. I must admit getting married when the person you hold most dear the biggest skeptic of love and destiny and all that jazz was getting a bit awkward.  
  
I looked down at the box in my hands, and began to unwrap it. The wrapping of orange fell away as I untied the yellow ribbon, the soft feel of it in my hand a welcome contrast to my stone sword. Inside the box was an album, with a black leather cover, embossed with a gold rose.  
  
They were pictures of friends, special moments; the album was bringing tears to my eyes from all the memories we had shared. And at the back was a letter from Usagi. "For all my dreams that you make come true. Love, Usagi."  
  
And then I realized. The true gift all along was having her as a friend, and being the one to make all her dreams come true.  
****  
'One left' the raven said as it flew away from the gate of time. 'She was always the last.'  
****  
  
~Saturn: If I Only Had A Heart~  
  
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.  
  
I bear the weight of the destruction of the Universe. It is nothing compared to what others must bear, yet is is everything that others must bear.  
  
Selenity once said to me that darkness in ones soul is the heaviest weight to carry. One would think I should be the strongest girl in the world.  
  
I would feel sorry for myself, the lonely princess of Saturn, had it not been for the sudden message that I was to become a Senshi.   
  
I remember how excited I was, how thrilling it would be to be given that chance; the wonderful opportunity to show everyone just how much it could be worth to be my friend. I thought to be someones friend, you needed a reason.  
  
She taught me that all you needed was a heart.  
  
A heart. A heart, of all things! Who needed one of those? All they caused were messy emotions, for goodness sakes!  
  
"But that's what friendship is, Hotaru. Messy emotions."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because to truly be someones friend, you have to care about them. And when you care about someone, you have emotions."  
  
"So why do you have to care?"  
  
"Do you ever feel lonely, Hotaru-chan? That's why you need to care. When people care about you, they make the loneliness go away, and you feel loved, even when you're all alone."  
  
"Even when you're all alone? I think I want to have a friend like you."  
  
"Messy emotions and all?"  
  
"Messy emotions and all." I confirmed.  
  
I am the Messiah of Darkness. I know this. I have known for a long time.  
  
Yet she is the Messiah of Light. And she will light my way, illuminating the darkness so I can see my path.   
  
She is the princess; heart, mind, body and soul. Especially heart.  
****  
~Earth: The First Time~  
  
I suppose the first time I saw her was back when I was about 17 or so, on my first trip to the Moon Kingdom. My mother came anually for the conferences or somesuch nonsense, and my fater came so he could stay with my mother.  
  
So anyway, I was walking through the Royal Moon gardens when a short girl of about 14 or so ran into me, quite literally. She wore her hair in a funny style, and her insane giggling was driving me absolutly crazy. "Ummph! Watch where you're going, Odango Atama!"  
  
Her giggling stopped immediatly, thank the gods, and I was even daring to dream that I might continue my walk when she looked up into my eyes, rightiously angry.  
  
I knew I was lost then. Hopelessly and totally lost in her eyes. I swallowed. "I'm sorry for calling you that, Miss..." I trailed off, seeking her name.  
  
"Selenity. Princess Selenity of the Moon." The anger in her eyes had faded to curiousity and we walked through the gardens side by side while she talked on and on about the different kinds of flowers. Suddenly, she turned to me. "I never did ask your name."  
  
"Endymion. Prince Endymion of Earth." Her eyes widened and she blushed. "So you're the one, hmm..."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
She turned to me then. "Your parents brought you because they're trying to set us up."  
  
It was my turn to blush.  
  
I suppose the first time I kissed her was one day when we were walking down a back hallway past a minor library. She was telling me a story about one of her friends, Mars, and she tripped over a small crack in the marble floor.  
  
I caught her before she fell. She fit so snug in my arms; I didn't want to let go of her, but I slowly released her. I noticed she moved away from me hesitantly too, and I made the most dredful mistake a man can make when confronted with the situation of a beautiful girl in your arms.  
  
I looked into her eyes, and bam! There went common sense, quickly followed by caution and hesitation. Sucked right in by those swirling pools of blue. My sanity was on vaction, and my self control was nada, zilpo, zilch.  
  
I captured her lips with my own in a searing kiss that felt as though it lasted for eons upon eons...  
  
And then I remembered I had to breathe.  
  
And sanity returned from vacation as I realized what I had just done. I expected her to slap me, tell me she never wanted to see me again... or something along those lines.   
  
I did not, however, expect her to pull my head down and lay one right back on me. That was the second time i kissed her.  
  
I suppose the first time I realized I loved her was when I was walking through the gardens alone one evening, and for some reason I felt very hollow and empty. I sat down on a bench and gazed at the Earth from my seat. Then she was there.   
  
"The Earth is really beautiful, isn't it, Endymion?" she asked softly, breaking the silence.  
  
"Yes, it is." I looked down at her and noticed that she was wearing only a thin nightgown. She must've been freezing!  
  
I wrapped my arms around her and sighed. "It's terribly cold outside. Why did you come out here?"  
  
"I felt that you needed me to be here." She pointed to her heart. "It hurt right there, and I knew I had to find you."  
  
That was when I knew that the one thing that had been missing from my life had been her all along.  
  
****  
Luna collapsed warily against Artemis, and Uranus looked at her curiously. "Now, the real battle shall begin."  
****  
  
  
End Book 3!!  
  
  
  
  



End file.
